Mala Dalia
"The Force is like the water; it's ever flowing, ever changing. It's never even once the same as before. As are we." ~ Mala Dalia Summary Mala Dalia (46BBY - 59ABY) was a Pantoran Jedi who specialized in Aquatic Research and Development. While most of her long life remains a mystery, she was one of the more influential Jedi in the Clone Wars. After her Jedi training was complete, she spent most of her time stationed at Mon Calamari where she led a development team in creating more efficient underwater gear for Clone Troopers and Jedi. She was known to fill her spare time with creating lightsabers that could work just as well below water as above. Biography Born and Forgotten In 46BBY, the relationship between the Republic and its citizens on Pantora was under a lot of strain. Different areas around the moon were threatening succession. It was in one of these areas that a little girl named Mala was born. Her parents had no loyalty for the Republic and even less tolerance for how the Jedi Order policed the galaxy as benevolent crusaders. Late in the year when Mala was only a few months old, her parents’ worst fear came true. The little Pantoran wanted a toy that was sitting on the other side of the crib. Instead of crawling over to it, the child raised her hands and the toy lifted into the air and floated over to her. Mala’s parents would not tolerate their child becoming a Jedi. At first, they wanted to leave Pantora and raise the child on a system that was not ruled by the Republic. However, they were outstanding scientists who were working for the Pantoran government and any sudden leave would raise notice to the Republic. So, with tears in their eyes, they gave up Mala for adoption. They found a Twi’lek couple on Ryloth that was willing to take the child. While the system was controlled by the Republic off and on, this couple lived in the Nightlands where few ever ventured. The Twi’lek male had a sibling who was a Jedi and had died in a training accident. So, the couple seemed perfect for handling a Force-sensitive child whom they wanted to live free of the Order. A New Family While the Twi’lek couple who took Mala in decided to keep her first name, they changed her last name to Dalia as a way of welcoming her into their family. They had been trying to have a child for several years with no success. So, they gave Mala as much attention and love as they could. They would not stop trying for a child, but Mala was welcomed as if she was their real first child. Her new adoptive father, Airoh Dalia was an engineer who specialized in building houses while her adoptive mother, Ivy Dalia, was a florist. Mala Dalia was a natural Force-wielder. Her reflexes and acrobatic abilities made for a very exciting childhood. When she was 3 years old, her parents had finally succeeded in having a child. Mala had a new little sister named Alaira. Mala was excited to have a sibling. Since there wasn’t a large community of children her age around their home, Mala was never bothered by the difference in species. She embraced Alaira as her sister and helped take care of Alaira to the best of her abilities. Greatly to the family’s surprise, Alaira demonstrated her abilities as a Force-wielder when she was only a few weeks old. Mala was holding her sister when she tripped and dropped the baby. Instead of falling, little Alaira floated just above the ground for a moment before slowly lowering down to it. Maybe it was because of Mala being with Airoh and Ivy so much during the pregnancy, or maybe Airoh’s family history, or maybe just the will of the Force. Either way, Mala was ecstatic to have a Force-sensitive sister. At first, their parents were deeply concerned. They knew that Jedi could sense the presence of other Force wielders, but the concern quickly dissolved into happiness for Mala. Adopted and not, Mala and Alaira then shared a bond that went much deeper. As Alaira grew from baby to toddler, Mala began discovering her talents and hobbies outside of the Force. Airoh Dalia had hoped that she would be an engineer someday, but she spent most of her time with Ivy. Mala was fascinated by the luminescent crystalline flora that surrounded their cave home. She had the curious and scientific mind of her original parents back on Pantora. She would always go off for hours at a time to look for new plant life and organisms. It was on one of those outings, that her life took a drastic turn from happiness into sadness. In the distance, Mala heard a terrible crumbling and crashing sound in the direction of the cave that her family lived in. The sound echoed through the Nightlands of Ryloth riddled with the sounds of blaster fire. Mala began running home as fast as her six year old legs could take her. When she arrived at the entrance to the cave, there was nothing left but a pile of rocks and debris. She still held hope for her family, but she began to fear the worst when she found a small basket amidst the debris. It was the basket that little Alaira would go pick flowers with. Mala made her way as fast as she could to the alternate entrance of her home. She began to understand in her heart though, that she was already too late. When she arrived, she found Ivy and Airoh. Their home had collapsed. They died holding each other’s hands. Mala searched and searched, but there was no sign of Alaira. She could not sense her sister’s presence at all. After hours of searching, Mala’s six year old body could not search anymore. She used what energy she had left to bury her parents properly. Lost and Found Mala was not old enough to be able to take care of herself yet. So, she followed the one course that she had left and headed for the Twilight. With Ryloth’s synchronous rotation, Twi’leks primarily lived in the band of twilight between the Brightlands and the Nightlands. It was there, that she knew she could find help. Sure enough, a Twi’lek man stopped her in the streets of the first city that she arrived in. A Pantoran girl starving and exhausted is difficult to not notice in Resdin. She was taken to a care facility for orphans and runaways where she would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The life of a slave was hardly what Mala wanted, but she had no other choice. To her good fortune, she was sold to a Quarren named Nar Syniphe who lived on Coruscant as an Artisan. He took pity on Mala when he heard of how she was found. He could tell right away that she was gifted for her age. So, he bought her as a fee to free her instead of a contract to enslave her. He would raise her as the daughter that he never had. After two years living in the slums of Coruscant, Mala had become a very capable child. She demonstrated talents, knowledge, and emotional maturity that far surpassed that of an eight year old. It was this capable and tough nature that would save her life. One day when she was out buying supplies for Nar Syniphe, a criminal decided to take advantage of what seemed to be the easy prey of a child with money. The Gotal grabbed her and pulled her into an alley where he held a blaster to her head. Knowing how hard it was for Nar Syniphe to make a living as an Artisan and provide for both him and her, she was reluctant to hand over the credits. When she refused, the criminal made the mistake of striking her to the ground. The Coruscant marketplace was completely oblivious to this crime in progress until suddenly a Gotal flew out of an alleyway and across the street crashing into a vendor’s stand. Needless to say, he was knocked unconscious. All attention in the marketplace turned to the small eight year old Pantoran girl who slowly walked out of the same alleyway. The police droids quickly appeared at the scene to apprehend the girl and her attacker. When Nar Syniphe learned of the incident, he rushed over to the local holding cells. Mala had been able to keep her secret until now. When he asked her how she threw the man, she confessed to being a Force wielder. Jedi Training After an exhaustingly long interview with the Jedi Council, Mala was chosen to be trained as a Jedi. Her adoptive parents had never spoken of the Jedi. They thought that it would be best for Mala and Alaira if they grew up thinking that they were alone in their abilities and that they were special. Mala quickly learned that she was indeed special, but also that she was one of thousands. Accepting Mala to train as a Jedi was a difficult decision for the Council. They knew that Mala was unaware that her little sister Alaira Dalia survived the cave-in and was currently a Jedi youngling in the Temple. Attachment has been the unraveling of many Jedi in the Order's long history. So, they took advantage of Mala's ignorance and kept the knowledge of her sister's survival and whereabouts from her. To avoid any unintentional contact between the two, Mala was given the academic path. She was too old for traditional training anyways and was therefore assigned to study under a Jedi named Abar Kinoff. He was a scientific researcher in the Jedi Temple. Under his watch and guidance, Mala would learn how to focus her abilities and become eligible for Jedi Padawan status. With her quick and skilled mind she quickly went through the training that Abar had started her with. The council ruled that she could not be a Padawan for another 2 years. So, for the latter half of that time, she studied findings and field reports along with Master Abar. Too keep her busy, Abar Kinoff commonly tasked Mala with entering scientific findings into the Jedi Archives. So, Mala spent a lot of her time reading the field reports. She read about worlds of ice and worlds of fire. Mala learned just how dynamic the universe is and about dozens of worlds without ever leaving the Archives. One Jedi Master who commonly sent in field reports was Jedi Master Niro Hetak, a Human who studied Paleoclimatology on the far side of Iceberg I. His reports were her favorite. They were extremely thorough and informative, but they also included an excessive amount of speculation. Mala found herself imagining right along with him how the moons of Mon Calamari were formed and what they were like once upon a time. When her allotted time in the Jedi Temple expired, it was time for 10 year old Mala to begin her Padawan Training under a Jedi Master. With Master Kinoff's recommendation, the Council assigned her to Jedi Master Niro Hetak. At first, she was incredibly excited. She said her goodbyes and quickly left for Iceberg I. Upon arriving, she could not find any sign of Master Hetak. She searched and searched until she finally found a small laboratory (shack). There she found remnants of Niro's research along with a voice recorder. Listening to it, she learned that his findings were leading him to Iceberg III. So, she got in her Jedi Starfighter and went to the 3rd moon of Mon Calamari. Once there, it did not take long to find Master Niro Hetak. Apparently, as thorough as his field reports were, he was also fairly obsessive and reluctant to keep the Jedi Order informed as to where he was at all times. He was a man driven by the thrill of discovery and felt that "checking in" with the Jedi Order was one of the best ways to spoil the fun. He had not asked for a Padawan and was not thrilled to meet Mala. Without either of them knowing, the Jedi Order had assigned Mala to Hetak as a last effort to get him to resume a more Jedi-like lifestyle. Mala's fascination in his research was her salvation with him, but even with accepting her as a Padawan, he still refused most assignments and did not train Mala. To him, she was a lab assistant. Together, they studied the ice cores for several years on the moons of Mon Calamari. It did not take long for Mala to miss her usual seat in the Jedi Archives and the warm temperatures of anywhere else in the galaxy. During most of the nights as Master Hetak would sleep, Mala would stare longingly at Mon Calamari and its warm climate. She understood that the research being done on the moons was important, but she was hardly experiencing the training that she expected. Mon Calamari When Mala Dalia returned to the Jedi Temple in 30BBY to go through the trials and become a Jedi Knight, the Jedi Order was pleased to learn that her training had kept her completely isolated from any sign or whisper of her sister, Alaira. While Mala was about to go through the trials, Alaira was training with her own Jedi Master, Renara Windtreader, on the other side of the Galaxy. Mala passed the trials, but not without severe difficulty. Niro's lack of training left her hardly capable to be a Knight. However, she did pass. Understanding that Mala had an aptitude for science, the Jedi Council assigned her to research and develop Jedi weaponry and other technology for aquatic uses. She used this assignment as a good reasoning to finally visit Mon Calamari. Since there was already a Jedi Master stationed there, the Council assigned Mala to coordinate her research with Jedi Master Genome Mantaglider. The hot-headed Mon Calamarian was there to maintain the peace between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren. So, he was constantly entering aggressive negotiations. When Mala arrived, Master Mantaglider was furious with the council for sending him what he referred to as a "giant youngling." He had no interest in Mala's research and her lack of combat skills made her appear useless to him. More of Mala's story will be coming soon. Personality and Traits Powers and Abilities Behind the Scenes Appearances *'Clone Wars Adventures ' *'Clone Wars Adventures Forums ' *'DeviantART.com ' See Also *'Genome Syndicate ' *'User Profile: MalaDalia ' *'Alaira Dalia ' Category:Female Characters Category:Pantorans Category:Jedi Category:Lifetime Members Category:Member Category:General Category:Scientist Category:Genome Syndicate